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Tuesday, 23 October 2012

Serena Zane and the Vampire Mythos!

Hi everyone;

Being the total vampire geek I am, I couldn't be happier today than to be able to welcome the wonderful Serena Zane! She has a terrific, and may I say totally hot, new book called Bane, Book 3 in the Dark Warrior series. Check out that awesome cover!

But before Serena talks to us about her book, she's going to talk to us about the vampire mythos. I love how she breaks it down for us, so please read on and enjoy!

Serena, talk to us!

Vampire
mythos classic vs. modern

Serena
Zane

"Passion to die for"

Over the centuries the mythos of the
Vampire has both fascinated and disgusted us. Like a car accident, we just
can't look away. The thought that something so beautiful could be so dangerous
is almost irresistible for the human race.

As a person, I have a love of all things
paranormal: vampires, werewolves, witches, etc... As a writer, the history of
each has taken on a sort of morbid fascination for me. Due to the fact that
there are so many different legends that have been created about the Vampire, I
took what I loved most about each and then added my own twist on the vampire
vs. werewolf wars of legend.

Zaniac vampires, as I like to call them,
are created. In their own sub-culture, a priestess in Egyptian times fell in
love with a young warrior. However, he spurned her affections, and as a curse
she created the first vampire. Each vampire after that was created from this
first 'original'. Zaniac vampires can shape-shift, fly, have heightened senses,
mind-control, and telepathy. Silver can kill them. As is traditional, they
cannot be exposed to sunlight, are effected adversely by Holy Water, and a good
old fashioned stake will take them out. While they can 'fall in love' and do so
intensely, there is no such thing as a 'lifemate' unlike in my favorite novels
by Christine Feehan.They do have a
marriage ceremony that ties them for life and vampires do not believe in open
relationships once married. Adultery is punished by death. However, before
marriage, they are rather promiscuous. Zaniac vampires are immune to drugs, or
disease, and are of course immortal.

The legend I have created to make this my
own is a twist on the old vampire vs. werewolf wars. In Zaniac history
werewolves were held as slaves by the vampire race. Werewolf blood is like a
drug for vampires, creating a sense of euphoria. It is highly addictive. The
werewolves rebelled back in the Middle Ages and a great war was started
creating a rift between the two species. In the Dark Warrior series, vampire
Damon Blake falls for Nikki Adams, who is part-werewolf. This creates numerous
issues that Zaniac's can experience throughout this ongoing series. My newest
release, Bane, explores how old grudges and beliefs can effect one's life.

Just for fun, I have included a comparison
chart below of some of my favorite vampire legends. Check it out, and let me
know what you think!

Vampire Mythos Comparison Chart

Authors

Bram Stroker

Dracula

Christine Feehan

Dark series

Anne Rice

The Vampire Chronicles

L.J. Smith

Vampire Diaries

Stephanie Meyer

Twilight Saga

P.C. Cast

House of Night

Serena Zane

Dark Warriors & Hunter Diaries
series

Pros

Shape-shift

*Fog, bats

*Any

*Any

Invisibility

*

*

*

*

Compulsion

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Telepathy

*

*

*

*

Magical Abilities

*

*

*

*

Flying

*

*

*

*

Preternatural Speed

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Cons or causes Death

Sunlight

*

*

*

*

*

*

Wooden Stakes

*

*

*

*

*

Holy Water

*

*

*

Silver

*

*

Crosses

*

*

*

Decapitation

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Fire

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Starving

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Dependent on Lifemate

*

Loss of Emotion

*

*

Sleeps in Coffin

*

*

Sleeps in Ground

*

*

Created

*

*

*

*

*

*

Born

*

*

*

Blurb:

Strife has found the Pack in Boston. A young woman is murdered in an abandoned warehouse. and three other girls are missing . Detective Nikki Adams gets a whiff of something off about the whole case as she struggles to find the killer before more girls end up dead.

Meanwhile Damon Blake, Nikki's boyfriend and full-fledged vampire, finds a medallion with the insignia of the Nostre Dames, his own clan, inscribed on the surface at the crime scene. Slipping it into his pocket he stashes the evidence before a war breaks out between the races, again. The tenuous truce he recently forged with the Pack is in danger.

Nikki knows Damon is hiding something from her as the case escalates, but he won't tell her what it is. She is faced with the fact that he might not trust her after all, even though she has given him her heart.
The Dark Warriors is a series of serial short-stories that continue to drive deeper into the world of the unknown for Detective Nikki Adams. This is the first in a series of steamy, fun, and fast reads that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Serena
Zane lives with her husband and son in the Northwest. She works hard, plays
hard, and spends her free time studying the Middle Ages in a re-creationist
organization called the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc (SCA); and
writing her novels.

Zane started writing at an early age with short stories,
and poetry inspired by her mother, a strong independent woman who loves to help
others, and writes as well. In 2009, she became a member of Romance Writer’s of
America.
She fell in love with the idea of writing a contemporary action/adventure
romance while she attended college to study Criminal Justice. After months of
working on homework assignments late at night that made her want to turn on
every light in the house, she combined both her knowledge of Criminal Justice
and her love for all things paranormal.

To check out what Serena is up to via Twitter friend her
@serenazane or check out her website: www.serenazane.com

@rosannaleo Thanks for having me today. I love talking about vampires or really anything paranormal. @Savannah Me too! My reading shelves are full of nothing but paranormal books. One morning I woke up and asked myself, "Why would I be writing anything else?" That said, I do have a few sweet romance and an action/adventure romance series out as well, but my first love are vampires. @Lorrie My mom actually! Funny, my mother does not like vampires or anything she calls "yucky", but she has purchased several of my short stories and admits that if she were into "that sort of thing" she would love them. Thanks for the comment. There are so many good vampire authors out there, it's fun twisting the legend around.

@Melodie Thank you. I actually had to pair it down to some of the more traditional vampire authors. However, there are so many different takes on the Vampyre that I would have to do a whole non-fiction novel to get them all in and, frankly, I just don't have time for that. Lol. I'm on Goodreads as well if you are interested in what I'm actually reading. ;)